Positioning method and apparatus, and terminal and device

This application is the U.S. national phase of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2021/126474 filed on Oct. 26, 2021, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202011168407.7 filed with CNIPA on Oct. 27, 2020 and titled “Positioning method and apparatus, and terminal and device”, the disclosures of which are incorporated in their entireties by reference herein.

The present disclosure relates to the field of mobile communications technologies, in particular to a positioning method and apparatus, and terminal and device.

In a New Radio (NR) system, a terminal achieves downlink positioning by measuring positioning reference signals (PRSs) transmitted by multiple transmission and reception points (TRPs). Each terminal may measure PRSs transmitted by at most four frequency layers. Each frequency layer corresponds to one frequency bandwidth. It is specified in NR systems that each frequency layer includes a maximum of 276 physical resource blocks (PRBs), and the frequency-domain position thereof is configured by a positioning server to the terminal. In each frequency layer, multiple TRPs may be configured to transmit PRSs. Each TRP may configure a PRS resource set for transmitting multiple PRSs. Each PRS resource set may include multiple PRS resources. Multiple PRS resources in one PRS resource set may utilize different transmitting beams, to provide coverage of terminals.

A terminal measures PRSs transmitted by different TRPs of one frequency layer and then obtains positioning measurement values of the different TRPs. The terminal reports the positioning measurement values to a positioning server, and the positioning server calculates position information of the terminal.

Therefore, the positioning accuracy is related to the bandwidth of PRS. The greater the bandwidth, the higher its temporal resolution is and the higher the positioning accuracy is. In conventional positioning methods, the bandwidth of PRS is limited by the bandwidth of one frequency layer. These conventional positioning methods cannot meet the positioning accuracy demands of scenarios having higher positioning accuracy requirements (e.g., an industrial Internet of Things scenario).

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning method and apparatus, and terminal and device, to solve the problem in the prior art of low positioning accuracy for terminals to some extent.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a positioning method, performed by a terminal, including:

Optionally, prior to the receiving the positioning configuration information, the method further includes:

Optionally, after the receiving the frequency layer aggregation indication information transmitted by the positioning server, the reporting the positioning measurement quantity to the positioning server includes:

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation capability information includes at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth;

Optionally, in case that the positioning configuration information includes the first frequency layer error parameter and the PRS configuration information, the calculating the positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information includes:

Optionally, after the receiving the positioning configuration information, the method further includes:

Optionally, the first frequency layer error parameter or the second frequency layer error parameter includes at least one of: a timing offset, a phase offset, a frequency error, or a power offset between the different frequency layers.

In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a positioning method, performed by a positioning server, including:

Optionally, the method further includes:

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation capability information includes at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation indication information includes: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.

Optionally, after the transmitting the positioning configuration information to the terminal, the method further includes:

Optionally, the solving the position of the terminal according to the positioning measurement quantity to obtain the target position information of the terminal includes:

Optionally, the first frequency layer error parameter or the second frequency layer error parameter includes at least one of: a timing offset, a phase offset, a frequency error, or a power offset between the different frequency layers.

In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a terminal, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer program, the transceiver is configured to transmit and receive data under the control of the processor, and the processor is configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following steps:

Optionally, prior to the receiving the positioning configuration information, the processor is further configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following steps:

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation capability information includes at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation indication information includes: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.

Optionally, in case that the positioning configuration information includes the first frequency layer error parameter and the PRS configuration information, the calculating the positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information includes:

Optionally, after the receiving the positioning configuration information, the processor is further configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following steps:

In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a network device, applied to a positioning server, including a memory, a transceiver and a processor, wherein

Optionally, the processor is further configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following steps:

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation capability information includes at least one of: a quantity of aggregated frequency layers, whether frequency layer aggregation is supported, or a receiving filter bandwidth.

Optionally, the frequency layer aggregation indication information includes: indication as to whether the terminal is to perform frequency layer aggregation, a frequency layer aggregation reporting manner, and indication of indexes of frequency layers for aggregation.

Optionally, after the transmitting the positioning configuration information to the terminal, the processor is further configured to read the computer program in the memory to implement following step:

Optionally, the solving the position of the terminal according to the positioning measurement quantity to obtain the target position information of the terminal includes:

In a fifth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a positioning apparatus, applied to a terminal, including:

In a sixth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a positioning apparatus, applied to a positioning server, including:

In a seventh aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a positioning system, including the terminal described in the third aspect and the network device described in the fourth aspect.

In an eighth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a processor readable storage medium storing a computer program, wherein the computer program is configured to be executed by a processor, to implement the aforementioned positioning method.

In a ninth aspect, an embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computer program including computer readable codes, wherein the computer readable codes are configured to be executed by a computing and processing device, to implement the aforementioned positioning method.

In the embodiments of the present disclosure, in case that the terminal has received the positioning configuration information including at least one of PRS configuration information or a first frequency layer error parameter, the terminal may calculate a positioning measurement quantity according to the positioning configuration information; the terminal reports, to a positioning server, one positioning measurement quantity for multiple frequency layers of one TRP, or one positioning measurement quantity for each frequency layer of one TRP; and the positioning server may obtain a more accurate positioning measurement quantity based on the positioning configuration information and the manner in which the terminal reports the positioning measurement quantity. Thus, the position of the terminal may be determined more accurately, thereby improving positioning accuracy.

The above description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present disclosure. In order to understand more clearly the technical means of the present disclosure, such that they can be implemented in accordance with the contents of the specification, and in order to make the above and other purposes, features and advantages of the present disclosure more obvious and understandable, specific implementations of the present disclosure are provided hereinafter.

In order to make the technical problem, the technical solutions and the advantages of the present disclosure clearer, the following clearly and completely describes the technical solutions according to the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The embodiments in the following description are merely a part rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

The term “and/or” used herein merely refers to an association relationship between objects to be associated and means there are three relationships. For example, A and/or B may represent: only A exists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. The symbol “/” as used herein generally represents there is a “or” relationship between the objects to be associated.

The term “multiple” used herein refers to two or more, and other quantifiers are similar thereto.

Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a positioning method and apparatus, and terminal and device, to improve positioning accuracy for terminals.

The method and apparatus are based on the same creative concept, and share similar principle to solve the problem. Therefore, for the implementation of one of the method and the apparatus, references may be made to the other of the method and the apparatus. A repeated description is omitted herein.

In addition, the solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure may be applicable to multiple kinds of systems, especially a 5generation (5G) system. For example, an applicable system may be a global system of mobile communication (GSM) system, a code division multiple access (CDMA) system, a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) system, a general packet radio service (GPRS) system, a long term evolution (LTE) system, an LTE frequency division duplex (FDD) system, an LTE time division duplex (TDD) system, a long term evolution advanced (LTE-A) system, a universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) system, a worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) system, a 5G New Radio (NR) system, or the like. All of the multiple kinds of systems include a terminal and a network device. The systems may include a core network portion as well, for example, evolved packet system (EPS), 5G system (5GS) or the like.

The terminal involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a device that provides voice and/or data connectivity to a user, a handheld device with a radio connection function, or other processing devices connected to a radio modem or the like. In different systems, the names of terminal devices may be different. For example, in a 5G system, a terminal may be called user equipment (UE). Wireless terminal can communicate with one or more core networks (CNs) via a radio access network (RAN), and wireless terminal may be mobile terminal, such as mobile phones (or called “cellular” phones) and computers with mobile terminal, such as portable, pocket-sized, hand-held, computer built-in or vehicle-mounted mobile apparatuses, which exchange voice and/or data with the radio access network. For example, personal communication service (PCS) phones, cordless phones, session initiated protocol (SIP) phones, wireless local loop (WLL) stations, personal digital assistant (PDA), and other devices. The wireless terminal may also be called a system, subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, remote station, access point, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, user agent, and user device, which are not limited in the embodiments of the present disclosure.

The network device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a base station. The base station may include multiple cells that provide services to terminals. Depending on the specific application scenario, the base station may be called access point, or may be a device in the access network that communicates over an air interface with wireless terminals through one or more sectors, or may be called other name. The network device may be used for converting the received radio frames into Internet protocol (IP) packets or vice versa, and serves as a router between the wireless terminals and the rest of the access network. The rest of the access network may include an IP communication network. The network device may also coordinate the attribute management of the air interface. For example, the network device involved in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a base transceiver station (BTS) in the global system for mobile communications (GSM) or code division multiple access (CDMA), a NodeB in the wide-band code division multiple access (WCDMA), an evolved Node B (eNB or e-NodeB) in Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, a 5G base station (gNB) in 5G network architecture (next generation system), a base station in 6G, a home evolved Node B (HeNB), a relay node, a femto, a pico, or the like, which is not limited herein. In some network architectures, the network device may include a centralized unit (CU) node and a distributed unit (DU) node, which may be located geographically separated.

The network device and the terminal may each perform multi-input multi-output (MIMO) transmission with each other by using one or more antennas. The MIMO transmission may be single user MIMO (SU-MIMO) or multiple user MIMO (MU-MIMO). According to the configuration and quantity of antenna combinations, the MIMO transmission may be two dimensional-MIMO (2D-MIMO), three dimensional-MIMO (3D-MIMO), full dimensional-MIMO (FD-MIMO) or massive-MIMO, and may be diversity transmission, precoded transmission, beam forming transmission, or the like.

is a flow diagram of a positioning method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The method is performed by a terminal and specifically includes following stepsto.

Step, receiving positioning configuration information, wherein the positioning configuration information may include, but is not limited to, at least one of positioning reference signal (PRS) configuration information or a first frequency layer error parameter.